and what day says “summer” better than July 4th. 

Strawberry-Banana Ice Cream

(original recipe from FoodGeeks.com)

2 cups heavy cream

1 cup whole milk (I used 2% and it worked just fine.)

2 tsp. arrowroot (This is a thickener like cornstarch but they are not the same so no substituting.)

2 egg yolks (Of course you should only consume raw egg that is absolutely fresh.  Save back and freeze the egg whites and you’ll have just what you need when it’s time to make Nana’s Banana Bread.)

1 large, ripe banana

1 cup strawberries

1/2 cup agave nectar

Mix cream, milk, agave and arrowroot.  Pre-chill in freezer for 20 to 30 min.  Peel and smash banana.  Puree strawberries including green leaves on top in a blender.  Whisk egg yolks in a small bowl.  Add chilled cream mixture and banana to strawberry puree.  Add to ice cream maker and follow the manufacturers instructions.

Happy Independence Day, America!

While watching this

Sister queries, “Can you really make butter just by shaking milk?”

“Yes,” I reply.  “I believe you can.”

Many minutes later she appears by my side.

“Can we do that?”

“Do what?”

“Make butter?”

“Yes,” I reply.  “I believe we can.”

And here is how it’s done:

Add 1/4 cup of this -

and three of these -

to one of these (with a tight fitting lid) - 

let one of these - shake vigorously intermittently for several minutes.

Pour off the liquid (buttermilk?) that accumulates and you are left with this  

and a very proud one of these -

**for more detailed instructions visit here. 

.

Doesn’t that look yummy?  And gourmet?  Will made a spinach quesadilla (read: iron booster) for me not too long ago and I am hooked.  These things take all of 10 minutes to make including cleanup.

Start with one large tortilla in a skillet (medium heat).  Sprinkle half with Monterey Jack cheese.  Add a big handful of spinach then sprinkle a bit more cheese on top.  Fold tortilla over and flip as necessary until both side are slightly browned and your cheese is melted.  So easy!

Besides fresh fruits and veggies what’s your favorite (healthy) quick cook snack?

I used to have migraines - 3 to 4 day migraines at least twice every month.  They started when I was a teen and continued for many years.  Even after I knew the cause nothing seemed to cure them.  See, I experienced severe anemia during both of my pregnancies and once when I went to give blood they turned me away because my iron level wasn’t even on the chart.  It was after this that I finally realized the headaches seemed to follow a rhythm remarkably similar to my womanly cycle.

I started taking a multi-vitamin regularly and that helped for a month or so.  Then I guess my body re-adjusted because things went back to “normal.”  I added a B-12 supplement to the mix as well as a regular dose of Ferrous Sulfate (yuck! and the warnings? scary!)  Even that was only marginally successful.  Then I found mention of a chlorophyll supplement that supposedly tricked your body into thinking it had enough iron.  Hmm, that might work.  I ordered the supplement and found that over the course about six months (100mg daily) the migraines all but disappeared.  Cool.  Then I got a little cocky and let my supply run out.  The very next month the migraines came back in full force.  Not cool.

So I have a solution to my migraine dilemma but I don’t like it.  I don’t like it because I don’t like being dependent on a product that I can’t produce myself in some fashion.  What to do? What to do?  More research leads me here and here where it finally clicks.  Chlorophyll comes from plants.  I know this, of course.  I even tease about it telling people I drink plant blood for breakfast.  But finally, I actually “get” it.  I don’t need a supplement.  I need a salad.  But a really intense salad.  A 20 serving salad.   ……  Right.  Like that’s going to happen on a daily basis.  But can and it does in the form of a green smoothie.  I’ve been drinking one each day for a couple of weeks now and I feel great.  I’m still taking my supplements but I’m down to 50mg/day instead of 100 so that’s progress.

Anyway, I said all that to say this:  Happy Foody is hosting a 30 day Green Smoothie Challenge.  I’m in and I think you should be too.  It certainly can’t hurt to get more greens in your diet and who knows you might actually feel better at the end of it.

Don’t know how to make a green smoothie?  A quick google will yield some 183,000 results.  Or you could just do what I do.

 *Add about 4 oz of yogurt to the bottom of your blender.  That’s one of those single serving yogurt containers or a couple of large spoonfuls from a bulk container.  I use vanilla but berry blends also work well.

 * Add one long squeeze of agave nectar (or honey.)

 * Add two handfuls of washed baby spinach and one handful of washed and cut kale or turnip greens.  Don’t pack it down.

 (I don’t have a heavy duty blender so the order is important.  It may not be for you.)

* Flip the switch and let it blend until it looks something like this.

*Add a handful of wheat germ. (It should go without saying but … stop the motor first.)

*Add some frozen unsweetened berries to taste.  Mix and match blueberries, strawberries, raspberries etc. or just use your favorite.

*Blend until very smooth.

*Pour and enjoy.

*This “recipe” if I may use that term for such loose instructions tends to yield about two cups or 16 oz of smoothie.

One last note - “green” smoothie describes the leafy content and most likely will not represent the actual color of your drink.  For this reason I only give my children smoothies with lids that hide the sludgy like appearance.   I’m just sayin’.

Many thanks to Ann Kroeker who recently inspired dinner.

The time is 7pm at the Simple household. — Everyone has eaten.

Will: I’m really in the mood for pizza.

Toni: Oh?

Will: Do we have any of those French Bread Red Baron things?

Toni (who has not purchased “those French Bread Red Baron things” in over a year): Uhm, I don’t think so.

Will (dejectedly): Oh.

Toni (seeing the angst in her sweetheart’s eyes, lovingly offers):  You could use some of the Italian sausage I bought for lasagna and there’s plenty of cheese and some pizza sauce leftover from last time.

Will: But what about the dough?

Toni: Would you like me to make you some?

Will: You can do that?!

Toni (thinking of her secret recipe arsenal)  Sure.  It’s no problem.

Less than 30 minutes later this appears from the oven.

Couldn’t have done better with a phone and a delivery boy, if I do say so myself.

I’ve mentioned before that we like making smoothies around here but only recently have I felt confident enough to make up a recipe on the fly.  This morning Brother ate one bite of biscuit for breakfast so sometime around 11 it occurs to me that he may be in need of nutrition (y’know ‘cuz I’m a really good mom that way).  Anyway, a quick raid of the fridge yields some frozen blueberries and strawberries, Activa vanilla yogurt and whole milk.  Pull some wheat germ from the cupboard and agave nectar off the counter.  Toss it all in the blender and voila!  A yummy sweet treat that’s full of antioxidants, active enzymes, vitamins and other good stuff.  But most importantly, nutrition for even the most discriminating eater.

In case you’d like to create this yumminess for yourself I’ve provided the recipe below… at least as well as I remember it.

’bout 1/2 cup frozen blueberries

’bout 1/2 cup frozen strawberries

4 oz container of vanilla yogurt

2 big spoonfuls of wheat germ

1 long squeeze of agave nectar (maybe a tablespoon?) (You could easily sub honey here.)

whole milk (enough to almost cover the ingedients in the blender)

What sorts of quick treats do you make for your family?

Here’s a super easy recipe for eggnog that we tried for the first time this year.  Previously, we waited expectantly for the first carton to appear on the grocery store shelves then promptly took it home and cut it by half with milk because it was so disgustingly thick.  This is MUCH better.  I will never buy store-made again.  Well, I probably will because I said I “never” would and of course, as soon as you say you “never will” anything then it happens.  Anyway…. here’s the recipe (in bold) the rest is just noise.

Super, Easy Eggnog

*6 eggs (We used very fresh, organic eggs.  I kind of wished we still had our own chickens because then I could have been absolutely sure about where those eggs had been.  Though I suppose anything that comes out of an animals backside underside? is probably a little suspect regardless of who that animal belongs to.  Anyway, I say all that because this is a no cook recipe which means raw eggs in and raw eggs out so, you know, be careful about your egg choice.)

*1 cup sugar (Will was the chef for this one so since it said sugar he used sugar.  I probably would have replaced this with some agave nectar to taste…. but that’s just me.)

*1 tsp vanilla (For heaven’s sake please use the real stuff.  Why do you even have that bottle of imitation in your cupboard?)

*1/4 tsp nutmeg (I’m not even going to suggest you grate this fresh because I know you won’t…. okay, okay, I didn’t either.)

*2 cups milk (We used organic, whole milk but I’m going to try again after the first of the year with fresh raw milk because I finally found someone local who will sell us some.)

*2 cups heavy whipping cream (That ingredient alone should convince you this is going to be good.)

*1/4 cup dark rum (Okay, maybe it was that ingredient that convinced you.  To be truthful, the original recipe called for 3/4 cup rum and 3/4 cup brandy.  We scaled it back to just the rum on our first try and then back further still so the alcohol wouldn’t overpower the other flavors.)

For best results, chill everything before you start.  Beat the eggs until they are frothy then beat in the sugar, vanilla, and nutmeg.  Slowly stir in the rum, cream and milk.  Chill your completed eggnog again and serve very cold with nutmeg sprinkled on top.

Let me know if you try this!

Yesterday could have been very bad.  My monthly feminine friend is visiting and she brought along a migraine just for fun.  I was completely bummed about the migraine because I really thought I’d figured out what was causing them and, therefore; how to avoid them.  Apparently not.  Anyway, as I said, yesterday could have been very bad.  I remember back to a year or so ago when life was busy, busy.  There would have been no stopping for silly headaches, or fatigue, or hormones.  I would have driven all around town to various appointment, grabbed fast food for my kids who would have been whining in the back seat about “when can we do something fun?” and been generally grumpy.  That was then.  Now things are slower…better.

The morning started with a lovely cup of Chai tea and time with my Father.  Later after the children awoke and were settled with breakfast and Sesame Street, I took a nice, long, hot shower.  A quick peak to check on the kids then back to put on a little makeup.  I don’t usually wear makeup but sometimes a girl needs to feel particularly feminine.  To that end I also chose to wear a flirty, little skirt that hadn’t seen the light of day in a while.  Amazingly, though my body felt terrible, my spirit felt beautiful and somehow that made up the difference.

We ran a single errand just to get out of the apartment and then stopped into the grocery store for a few items.  To keep myself from getting carried away, we skipped the cart and simply held our goodies.  When there were no more hands available to fill, we left.

Back home, I assembled this simple lunch.

It’s a tasty salad of chopped Romaine, broken wheat tortilla chips, diced onion, tomato, avacado and little bit of shredded cheddar.  We mixed some salsa and sour cream for an easy dressing.  The drink is apple cinnamon sun tea.  Have you ever made sun tea?  It couldn’t be simpler.  Before starting lunch, I dropped a few tea bags into a tall carafe filled with water and a bit of honey and then sat the whole thing out in the sun. (Be sure to cover the top to avoid bugs!)  When lunch was ready so was my tea.  My mother used to make this when I was a child.  The transformation from separate ingredients to delicious tea always seemed so magical to me.

After lunch I sent Will back to work, set the children up with some toys and I took a nap.  Yes, a nap.  In the very middle of the day.  It was wonderful.  I awoke feeling refreshed and ready (finally) to tackle the daily drudgery of laundry and dishes and such.

We rounded out the day with a supper of pasta & salad, karate class and an evening visit to our favorite park.

Today, I am dressed in jeans, my hair is in a ponytail and there is no trace of make-up on my face.  Even so, yesterday has created a change in attitude.  Looking at my to-do list I know it does not all have be done now.  There is time to be deliberate.

I cooked a tofu dish last night.  Not so remarkable really except that I’ve never cooked tofu before.  Actually, I’ve never eaten tofu before.  It was pretty good.  I ate a full plate and Will went back for seconds.  The kids opted to just have rice.  The recipe (below) came from a book called Tofu Cookery that I picked up on a whim one day at Wild Oats along with the tofu when I was feeling particularly crunchy.  That was about three months ago.  So last night I pulled the dusty book from the shelf, dug in the back of the cupboard and brought to the table …

Indonesian Satay

Chop in a food processor:

2 cloves garlic
1″ cube fresh ginger root, peeled

Add and process until smooth:

1/4 cup boiling water
2 Tbsp. soy sauce
2 Tbsp. peanut butter (I used crunchy because that’s what I had.)
2 tsp. honey
1/2 tsp. ground coriander
1/2 tsp. vinegar or lemon juice (I chose the lemon.)
1/8 tsp. cayenne

Slice into 1/2″ slices:

1 lb. tofu

Spread on the bottom of an 8″x8″ pan:

1 Tbsp. oil

Pour a thin layer of sauce into the pan, then arrange the slices of tofu in a single layer. Pour over the rest of the sauce. Let sit to marinate at least one hour. Bake at 375 F for 20-25 minutes. Serve with rice and vegetables.

Per Serving: Calories: 138, Protein: 9gm., Fat: 8gm., Carbohydrates: 6gm.

I cooked the rice with my rice cooker that I’ve only used twice so far but am officially in love with.  Generally, I’m not one for single use gadgets in the kitchen.  Most everything I have can be multi-purposed but I bought a rice cooker out of desperation.  See, I’m a fairly competent cook except when it comes to rice.  I can do Minute Rice in a Bag or Rice-A-Roni but plain, ordinary (cheap) white or brown rice is beyond my scope.  For a time I was able to cook rice in a crockpot but for some inexplicable reason even that method has now failed me.  Anyway, we had rice and the tofu above along with some broccoli, onion and red pepper sauteed in a little oil and soy sauce.  Delicious and nutritious. :)  

That was yesterday.  Tonight I cooked steak - also something never before attempted in my kitchen.  Can we say ”opposite ends of the spectrum”?  On a scale of 1 to 10 I give my steak a 5 but Will’s dad cooks the best steak in the world so I knew going in that my chances of greatness were slim.  To compensate I rounded out the meal with fried potatoes n onions and corn on the cob (which I later cut off the cob because Sister is about to lose one of her front teeth).

Anyway, all this to say - try something new today.  You just might be surprised at the results.

Because at 375 they can right my world in 8-10 minutes.